Venus OS on a Raspberry Pi: what it does and what it doesn’t
Yes, Venus OS runs on a Raspberry Pi. It is the software of Victron’s GX devices, and Victron publishes a Raspberry Pi image as a community project, not supported like its commercial products. On a Pi it reads devices wired over VE.Direct USB and sends them to VRM; as of Venus OS 3.81 it does not read Victron devices such as a SmartShunt or an MPPT that you only use over Bluetooth.
That gap is what Deeck Bridge fills: free software you install on the same Pi, which listens to your SmartShunt, MPPT and chargers over Bluetooth and puts them online. Below: what Venus OS is, which Pi to use, what it does on its own, what it doesn’t, and the short path to a Pi that watches a Bluetooth-only system.
What Venus OS is
Venus OS is the operating system inside Victron’s GX family, such as the Cerbo GX. It gathers data from the Victron products wired to it, shows them in the Remote Console, a screen you open in a browser on the local network, and sends them to VRM, Victron’s free online portal.
Victron also builds Venus OS for the Raspberry Pi. In its own words the image “is not supported like our commercial products”: it is a community effort, and questions go to the Modifications section of the Victron Community, not to Victron’s service department (Venus OS wiki: Raspberry Pi). It is a lean system of its own, not Raspberry Pi OS with Victron software added on top.
Which Raspberry Pi
The Venus OS wiki lists the Pi 2, the Pi 3 B and 3 B+, the Pi 4 and the Compute Module 4 as supported, the Zero 2 W from Venus OS v2.90, and the Pi 5 from Venus OS v3.70. The original Pi Zero, the Zero W and the Pi 1 are not supported. Recent Pi 4 boards (revision 1.4 and 1.5) need Venus OS v2.90 or later.
For Deeck Bridge the Pi also needs Bluetooth on board, which rules out the Pi 2. The Bridge runs on a Pi 3 or a Pi 4 with Venus OS v3.4x or later, and has been tested on a Pi 3 Model B with its built-in Bluetooth. The built-in Bluetooth is enough to read your devices; a USB Bluetooth adapter is recommended if you change device settings remotely. A Pi 4 gives Venus OS more headroom; a Pi 3B+ is the cheaper choice.
What it does on its own, and what it doesn’t
| Venus OS on a Pi | |
|---|---|
| VE.Direct devices (MPPT, BMV, SmartShunt) by cable | Yes, through a VE.Direct to USB cable. The wiki recommends Victron’s galvanically isolated cable. |
| MultiPlus and Quattro (VE.Bus) | Yes, with an MK3-USB interface: the Pi has no VE.Bus port of its own. |
| VRM portal and Remote Console | Yes. The VRM Portal ID is under Settings → VRM Portal. |
| Victron devices used only over Bluetooth | No, as of Venus OS 3.81. A SmartShunt or MPPT that is not wired to the Pi stays invisible to Venus OS and to VRM. |
| Push alerts to your phone | Through VRM: alarms by email and, since 2022, push in the VRM app. Only for the devices Venus OS reads. |
| Official support from Victron | No: community project, help on the Victron Community. |
The wiki lists a few more limits worth knowing before you buy: not every Wi‑Fi USB stick works, an HDMI display connected to the Pi can’t be dimmed or blanked, and of the relays only the first can be controlled by Venus OS. Some Venus OS versions also require writing a fresh image, which erases the settings.
The Bluetooth gap, and how Deeck Bridge fills it
Many campers, vans and boats run Victron devices that have Bluetooth built in and no cable to anything: a SmartShunt, a SmartSolar MPPT, an Orion XS, a Blue Smart IP22 charger. They broadcast their readings over Bluetooth Instant Readout, which phones nearby receive. As of Venus OS 3.81, Venus OS reads only the BMS NG models and the SolarSense this way, not these devices. To get them onto VRM with Venus OS alone, you would need a VE.Direct cable from the Pi to every device that has a VE.Direct port.
Deeck Bridge takes the other route. It is free software that installs on the Pi’s Venus OS and listens to your Victron devices over Bluetooth, exactly as the Deeck app does on your iPhone. It publishes them as native Venus OS devices, so they show up in the Remote Console and in your VRM graphs, and it checks the system battery every 30 seconds, sending push alerts to your phone even with the app closed. Nothing on your system changes: no cables, no re-pairing, no reconfiguring.
Deeck stays plug & play: the app finds the Bridge on your Wi‑Fi and hands it your device keys by itself. The same deck you see on iPhone, CarPlay and Apple Watch then works from any distance.
The steps, in short
- 1
Download the Venus OS image for Raspberry Pi from Victron (the link is on the wiki) and write it to a microSD card of 16 GB or more with Raspberry Pi Imager.
- 2
Power the Pi aboard near your devices, from a 12 V → USB adapter or any USB socket. Connect it to the onboard router (Ethernet is best) or to your Wi‑Fi or hotspot, open the Remote Console in a browser and link the Pi to your free VRM account.
- 3
Add SetupHelper, the free community add-on by kwindrem that provides the PackageManager menu: copy its venus-data file to a USB stick, plug it into the Pi and reboot. Leave “Modifications enabled” on.
- 4
In the Remote Console, go to Settings → PackageManager → Inactive packages → new, enter the package name voltdeck-venus-bridge, GitHub user iamdavidedb and branch main, then Proceed and Install.
- 5
Open Deeck on the same network. It finds the Bridge by itself, hands it your device keys and switches on remote alerts.
The full walkthrough: Deeck Bridge on a Raspberry Pi. The hardware costs less than a GX, once. The Bridge software is free; the remote deck and push alerts it enables are part of Deeck Pro (€39.99, once). If you already have a Cerbo GX, the Bridge installs on it instead: Deeck Bridge on a Cerbo GX.
Questions people ask
Can a Raspberry Pi replace a Cerbo GX?
For watching a system on VRM it can do much of the job, for far less money. But it is not the same product: Victron states the Pi image “is not supported like our commercial products” (source), and the Pi lacks the GX’s built-in Victron ports, so VE.Direct and VE.Bus need USB adapters. If your system depends on the GX for control rather than just watching, a Cerbo GX is the safer choice.
Which Raspberry Pi works with Venus OS?
According to the Venus OS wiki: Pi 2, Pi 3 B and 3 B+, Pi 4, Compute Module 4, Zero 2 W (from v2.90) and Pi 5 (from v3.70). For Deeck Bridge, pick a Pi 3 or Pi 4 with built-in Bluetooth.
Can Venus OS on a Raspberry Pi read my SmartShunt over Bluetooth?
No, not as of Venus OS 3.81. Venus OS reads the SmartShunt through a VE.Direct cable. With Deeck Bridge on the same Pi, the SmartShunt is read over Bluetooth with no cable and appears in Deeck and in VRM graphs.
Do I need a VE.Direct cable for Deeck Bridge?
No. The Bridge listens over Bluetooth. Devices you already have wired to the Pi keep working through Venus OS as before.
How much power does a Raspberry Pi with Venus OS draw?
A Raspberry Pi 4 draws about 2–3 W idle.